Drabble drop
by beenworkingonacoktail
Summary: Many many drabbles of the KuroXFai, Kurogane Vs Fai, or Kurogane and/or Fai, persuasion. Most are written after the drabble meme rules
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: Well, nothing obvious, but KuroxFai, or eventual KuroxFai implied. If not, just drabbles focusing on either one, really  
Rating: PG-13-ish?  
Summary: I get on the drabble meme bandwagon. This is the result  
Notes: First batch, written in the morning, at /work/ dontcha know (a drabble here, three drabbles there... what? it was a quiet morning until about 10:30. Then all hell broke loose... oy vey)

Meme rules:

_1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.  
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.  
3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!  
4. Do ten of these, then post them_

**1) R-Evolve – 30 seconds to Mars 3:59**

Kurogane had never had cause to take a castle by siege before. All the rending he'd brought had been for the good of his princess and the defense of their lands. Everything he'd done had been, ultimately, in defense of another.

But, as they'd skipped from world to world, he'd learned.

He'd learned to take high walls by storm and to batter at doors, to see through traps, break through defenses, and do this with the grinding of attrition. He'd learned to aim for the keep and feel the rush and want of taking it – and leaving it standing.

Another string of words, another day, and the magician's walls still stood. But he could see the cracks.

**2) Year Zero – ****30 Seconds to Mars 5:01**

He'd smile and he'd lie and he'd keep himself away.

That was the plan, that was the point, that was the one safe thing to do. Earn their trust, keep them in sight, keep them near, enough to protect or to protect against – they were a means to an end, and with this over his brother would live.

Keep them close, keep them away. Keep them in place.

But his smiles came too easily and his lies were thinner and thinner, and there'd never been a cause to guard against something except what had come their way to threaten them, the five of them, their group, their family, and too easily the lies were lost and Fai forgot the meaning of a means.

And then he had to keep away because that would be safest for _them_.

**3) Harbour – Vienna Teng 4:23**

The morning is fresh and crisp and he wakes with the sound of waves crashing against the docks. When he opens his eye the sun is streaming through the half-open window, its rays skewed gently and falling on the soft sheets of the bed.

Fai stretches with a content sigh.

In the bed across, Sakura sleeps with a smile on her face, wearied from the ordeal but well and safe again. Syaoran is curled uncomfortably in a wooden chair beside her, wearing a tired frown. Fai turns and softly leaves the room, a smile warm on his face.

Outside, the smell of seawater and foam makes him shiver for a moment. The wind runs through his hair.

Nearby, Kurogane leans against a wooden post close to the docks, and when Fai reaches him he hands over a cup of tea. The tea is nearly cold and bitter, and Fai takes the cup in his hands and warms it to his chest. He leans against the man, and Kurogane's frame half-shields him from the breath of wind. The ninja glances down at him; Fai is happy.

**4) Hanging – Craig Armstrong 4:17**

"Many years passed, or so the story goes, and the war raged on; many died, to the glory of all. Their names were remembered and praised by their fellows, their long list of deeds recalled and retold all around campfires, from village to village, and in the songs of their people they found life eternal-"

"Tch. There's no eternity if you're dead."

**5) Passage – Vienna Teng 4:17**

Fai dies and they plant a tree in his name.

The tree withers a short year later. Kurogane tears it from its roots and plants another.

After two months a fire burns it stiff. Kurogane tears it away and plants another; a storm uproots it not long after.

Kurogane replants it. It dies.

His hands are brown again as he plants yet another tree, in the same spot, in the same way. When this one dies he will begin again. His hands will be smeared with earth, as they had been with red not many years before. He will plant and replant – this life, at least, he can keep going.

**6) Buddha for Mary – 30 Seconds to Mars 5:45**

There is a quiet rumble in his ears as Kurogane feels Fai tear away from his grip. It dies as the mage swings his sword and then there is a scream, loud, loud, so loud, and the world is strange.

The floor breaks and the walls tear, the flow of power deafens him and his legs are stuck still where he stands. When he looks up the mage raises his sword and stares. Kurogane runs and lunges – he grabs Fai's hand, and there is blood on the man's face, the princess' blood, and Fai is pale and scarred and horrified and Kurogane can only grit his teeth and plow on ahead.

There's little else to do

**7) Because I want you – Placebo 3:24**

It will be over soon, or later on, whenever, but it _will_ end, somehow, sometime. And then, maybe, if they're all alive and well, maybe-

But no, it would be wrong, Fai thinks, this is the price paid for his sin. The price should take away, shouldn't give back, he should gain nothing from this, he should hope nothing from this.

But he does, he does, and he wants- he hopes, against his every thought, against his every fear, he hopes that by the end of it he won't be- he wouldn't be the only one, he wouldn't be alone.

**8****) J'ai fait une promesse – Anathema 2:40**

There is the smell of rain in the air, and the sky is clean and high. A willow moves in the wind, bending towards the green earth below.

Two figures, light and dark, rest against its trunk, leaning against each other. Their hands are bare and barely touch. Their sleep is gentle.

Sunlight falls down between the leaves, twining with the soft shadows easily. The day is warm.

**9) All that easy - ****Limp Bizkit 1:31**

They fight with swords and they fight with fists, they run and they jump, attack and avoid. Their rhythm is set, each of the other's moves guessed in the blink of an eye, in the turn of a thought.

They fight together, and it is so, so easy to imagine themselves at the other's back.

**10) Infrared – Placebo 3:17**

Kurogane can see in the dark. Fai knows this because he's seen (heard) the man move in darkness. Fai knows this because Syaoran has told him. Fai knows this because the ninja has the gait of a man who's never been blinded in his life.

He lies awake at night and laughs at the connections his mind creates around this simple fact – to see in the dark, to see through shadows, see through lies, through masks, smiles, everything.

Fai lies awake because he cannot sleep for dreams; he laughs and laughs because, late, late at night he can't decide whether Kurogane's sight should be something to fear.


	2. Chapter 2

Pairing: Well, nothing obvious, but KuroxFai, or eventual KuroxFai implied. If not, just drabbles focusing on either one, really  
Rating: PG-13-ish?  
Summary: I get on the drabble meme bandwagon. This is the result  
Notes: Second batch, written in the afternoon, at home. I actually like the first batch better, but since I put such effort into writing a /second/ batch, in the /same/ day, and didn't even cheat (well, except once, with about 10 secs) I figured they should be posted, if only for the comparison. Cause yeah, I cheated on the first batch... by tens of seconds!!

**1) Prospero's speech – Loreena McKenitt 3:22**

He stands before them, his secrets unfolded and unbound, and he can only close his eyes-his eye in sad remorse. There's no excuse for his deceit, and that's why Syaoran's forgiveness shakes him whole. But also, more so, Kurogane's eyes, which look at him with no shade of reproach, and not even surprise.

And Fai is humbled, and relieved.

**2) Before I'm dead – Kidney Thieves 4:33**

"Ne, Kuro-sama", Fai asks at one point, stretched low and lazy in the shade of two wooden doors. "What do you want to do before you die?"

"Why ask?" Kurogane's eyes are closed. The heat is stifling, and in an hour's time he will get back to working in the fields – his unlucky line of work this world round.

"No reason, I just wondered." Fai lets himself lie down on, head rested on his folded arms.

"I'll just live," Kurogane answers. "Whatever happens, happens. And that'll be my life."

**3) She is my sin – Nightwish 4:46**

It rained and rained and rained. There were boats everywhere, and the world was half-drowned. It happened frequently, the people said, ever since the weather shifted, ever since the Strange Woman came along with her hidden chest, many long years ago.

_The feather_, Kurogane thought, and saw the others think it too.

"And could you tell us where that woman is right now? You see, we were commissioned by our Lord to collect the strangest stories and events as we travel from land to land, and-"

The mage drawled on, his smile cheery, his voice inviting.

He always did this, no matter where they went, offered a friendly mien, an honest gaze, and people flocked to him. Kurogane wondered where the man had any room left for himself, if he "opened up" for everyone like this.

**4) Ce he mise le ulaingt – Loreena McKenitt**** 9 :10**

There was a wedding in the woods, and with it the drinks flowed and dances ran, quick and spirited. There were shades of gold and red and green, and cheers from time to time. These people were happy.

There was no feather here, but still, they stayed – Sakura's eyes had widened with joy, and Syaoran's with plea, and so, they stayed.

They made their way into the throng, still strangely dressed and foreign, and they were welcomed in. Food and drink was thrust their way, and people dragged them off towards circle dances and firesides and all the life that brewed and flourished there that night.

Fai laughed and danced, told stories and poured wine. Kurogane spoke little and watched. The mage was in a happy mood. The mage was among strangers, and acted too much like himself. The mage must have his troubles, to hide himself in others' joy like this, and hoard it in so much.

The mage, he thought, looked lovely and alive by the light of the fires; and Kurogane looked away.

**5) Bang Bang – Nancy Sinatra 2:42**

"Come here, you bastard!!"

"Ha-haaaah, you have to catch me first"

"You damned blasted idiot, stay still…!"

The voices withdrew as the two young boys, light haired and dark, chased one another down the street.

"Look at yourself run, Kuro-pon!"

"Hn."

"I wonder what you'll do to me once you catch me…"

"_HEY!_"

And another pair tore down the street.

**6) Say You, Say Me – Lionel Richie 4:01**

Yama is at once a blessing and a curse. With no language between them, he can't draw Kurogane's eyes away, can't prod him into anger and half-hearted chases. And Kurogane watches, and Kurogane learns some things, and Fai worries about it.

But, with no language, there are so many things that he can say, _thank you, I'm sorry, I'm afraid_, everything he's hidden, because hidden it will remain, locked still. It brings little release, and the words are strange in his mouth, but Fai is glad to say them – somehow, it counterweighs everything else that Kurogane's learned without him leave.

**7) Ice Queen – Within Temptation 5:20**

He ran and ran, taking crazy turns wherever they felt right. He nearly fell three times before he started laughing like a madman – there was ice on the streets and his boots skid and flew and Fai just laughed and laughed.

Behind him, closing in, a dark clad Kurogane glared daggers at him and threw strong words his way, and people stared where they passed by.

Then Fai stopped, grinned, turned round with a quick snap and waited for the impact. Kurogane slammed into him with the weight of a hammer and they crashed to the ground. Fai's breath was knocked out of him, but that was to be expected.

He'd just made one of their verbal spars into a physical enactment – no wonder they were both spent and sore by the end of it.

**8) Iris – Goo Goo Dolls 4:53**

"He fell and became human, and they were together. But she died soon after - his friend took her away. That's sad, isn't it? And now he'll spend his life wondering whether staying away would have kept her alive – she was on that road because of him, she was happy and carefree and not paying attention because of him-"

"He'd be wasting her life if he does. And his own. He'd be a fool."

"Yes. He would." There is a smile, sad and drawn out and far away. "But he's a man now, and aren't all men fools?"

Kurogane just looks at Fai and doesn't say a word.

**9) Night Ride Across the Caucasus – Loreena McKenitt 8:31**

They're climbing over logs and rocks and digging hands and feet in hardened clay and cracks of stone. The feather, a sacred object in this world, prized and desired, waits for them at the top.

Fai's hands are bloodied and his stomach is sick. This is too much, much too alike, his memories are pouring in and he can't make them stop as easily as any other day. He hopes he doesn't fall – the drop is long.

By the last stretch he's out of breath, because the yearning and the need to _reach, reach up, please, please_ is coupled with the end in sight, the actual end, and he knows he's gone crazy, because he is so happy for a mad, mad reason, and he can't breathe, and he can't see, and he's afraid to fall.

A strong hand grabs on to him and drags him to the top. Kurogane isn't gentle, and Kurogane doesn't _know_, and Fai gets his bearing back, a little, when soft grass meets his arms and knees.

The children are already running towards the light, the feather close by and unguarded, as strange as that may seem. Fai takes a gulp of air and half-sits, half-slouches where he's been dropped. The ninja towers above him, counting his breaths and waiting for them to even out. Kurogane isn't gentle, and Kurogane doesn't know – but he waits and he watches, and Fai is steady once again.

**10) Insight – Depeche Mode 5:04**

It feels strange to have Kurogane know his past but know nothing about the man's own story. It feels stranger to have Syaoran know both their lives (to have him know everyone's past, come to think of it) and know little about _him_.

_We all had things to hide, _Fai thinks and his brow furrows. The thought is strange, but he wasn't the only one with secrets, he realizes, and now that there are none left, now that they _know_ him, utterly, he feels that he is missing something. It feels wrong to know so little, to have once cared so little, and it feels new to _want_ to know. And he _does_ wants to know…

"Ne, Kuro-sama…"

"Hn?" A red eye opens, focused, in wait.

"Would you tell me about yourself?"


	3. Chapter 3

Pairing: Well, nothing obvious, but KuroxFai, or eventual KuroxFai implied. If not, just drabbles focusing on either one, really  
Rating: PG-13-ish?  
Summary: I get on the drabble meme bandwagon. This is the result  
Notes: Scrapped, cause it focused on Fai alone

**  
Now three – ****Vienna Teng (3:04)**

It was a strange world, in that everything was calm. It hit you wherever you walked, whatever shop or room you entered. The light of the sun was warm and peaceful, and the people around them were carefree.

It was wrong.

The city seemed asleep and lacking. The people were like puppets worked by an unseen hand. There was care, there was beauty, there was goodness and light – but everything felt wrong.

Fai didn't smile once while they were there.


	4. Chapter 4

Pairing: Well, nothing obvious, but KuroxFai, or eventual KuroxFai implied. If not, just drabbles focusing on either one, really  
Rating: PG-13-ish?  
Summary: I get on the drabble meme bandwagon. This is the result  
Notes: Scrapped, cause it felt off.

**  
Mess – ****Ben Folds Five 4:07**

It's falling through his fingers and he can't even grasp it.

He broke it, tried so hard to break it, their _link_ or whatever it was, Fai tried to break it once it was set in blood. He turned away, turned cold, turned sour – but Kurogane followed.

Kurogane followed, and Fai is chased by yet another person now, and he'd like to be caught, he'd like to stop running, but he doesn't know, you see, he doesn't know how to fall.


	5. Chapter 5

Pairing: Well, nothing obvious, but KuroxFai, or eventual KuroxFai implied. If not, just drabbles focusing on either one, really  
Rating: PG-13-ish?  
Summary: I get on the drabble meme bandwagon. This is the result  
Notes: Scrapped, cause it felt off... now, why didn't I scrap the ones in the second batch that I didn't like? /has no idea/

**Attack – 30 Seconds to Mars 3:09**

There is magic at his fingertips, magic around him, he's letting it grow at last, unrestricted, unhidden, and he throws it around himself in a frenzy, his hands clenched and tears in his eye.

He's fighting Kurogane at Ashura-ou's request, and Sakura's body is cold and frozen in this world, his world, and his brother's body is much, much lighter than he remembered, and Kurogane throws himself at him and Fai can't see his face-

_Good_, he thinks in the turn of a second, _at least there's that_…


End file.
